Cash remittances sent through banks by Filipinos working overseas reached $2.58 billion in May 2024, up by 3.6 percent from $2.49 billion posted a year ago, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said Monday.
It was the fastest growth in remittance money this year and surpassed the 3.1-percent growth amounting to $2.56 billion seen in April, data from the BSP show.
“The expansion in cash remittances in May 2024 was due to growth in receipts from both land- and sea-based workers,” the BSP said.
This brought total cash remittances in the first five months of 2024 to $13.37 billion, up by 3.0 percent from $12.98 billion logged in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, personal remittances, which include both cash remittances and non-cash items sent outside the banking system, went up by 3.7 percent to $2.88 billion in May from $2.78 billion a year ago.
The BSP said the increase was due to remittances from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea- and land-based workers with work contracts of less than one year.
Five-month personal remittances totaled $14.89 billion, reflecting a 3.0 percent increase from $14.46 billion a year earlier.
The BSP noted increase remittance flows from the three major labor markets for the Philippines. The US had the highest share of overall remittances during the period, followed by Singapore and Saudi Arabia.
Remittances account for about a tenth of the gross national income and support various sectors in the Philippines including banking, transportation, travel, retail and household spending.
Cash remittances reached a record $33.5 billion, while personal remittances amounted to $37.2 billion in 2023.
